Juan Felipe Herrera wins Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize

September 9, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Juan Felipe Herrera in front of an orange patterned wall in the Laureate Lab Visual Wordist Studio.

U.S. Poet Laureate Emeritus Juan Felipe Herrera, a professor emeritus of Chicano and Latin American studies at Fresno State, won a Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in recognition of outstanding lifetime achievement in poetry.

In Memoriam: Dr. Ray McKnight

August 31, 2022.Reading time 17 minutes.

Ray McKnight - Credit: Michelle Garcia/She Breathes Photography

Dr. H. Ray McKnight, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away on Aug. 5 in Richmond, California. He was 88.

New Faces: Sean A. Gordon

August 24, 2022.Reading time 11 minutes.

The College of Arts and Humanities welcomes new faculty Dr. Sean A. Gordon to the Department of English. He earned a Ph.D. in English and American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he recently defended his dissertation, “On Being Dispersed: The Poetics of Dehiscence from ‘We the People’ to Abolition.”

In Memoriam: Steve Adisasmito-Smith

August 12, 2022.Reading time 18 minutes.

Dr. Steve Adisasmito-Smith, a Fresno State associate professor of English, passed away on July 10. He was 57.

Fall Armenian Lecture Series begins with Der Matossian talk on ‘The Horrors of Adana’

August 12, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

Image of the The Horrors of Adana: Revolution and Violence in the Early Twentieth Century book cover. In a faded black and white image, three people look at the camera in front of a pile of debris.

Dr. Bedross Der Matossian will present an in-person lecture entitled “The Horrors of Adana: Revolution and Violence in the Early Twentieth Century” at 7 p.m. Friday, August 26, at the Whitten Boardroom of the Smittcamp Alumni House.

Frances Levine, longtime Fresno State supporter, dies at 94

June 23, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

Philip Levine with his arm around Fran as they look at each other in a black and white photo.

Frances Levine, whose gift to Fresno State of her U.S. poet laureate husband’s extensive personal book collection sparked the creation of the Philip Levine Reading Room inside the University library, passed away in Fresno on June 13. She was 94.

Kudos to Fresno Writers – Spring 2022

June 23, 2022.Reading time 28 minutes.

A woman's hand with rings on her fingers grasps a pen tightly as she writes in a notebook.

Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and the Department of English.

In memoriam: Dr. Robert O’Neil

December 10, 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

Dr. Robert O’Neil, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away Oct. 22. He was 93.

7 Questions with Chair of the Linguistics Department Dr. Sean Fulop

October 27, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Sean Fulop poses with a grey background.

The Linguistics Department at Fresno State studies the human capacity for language. As a defining characteristic of the human experience, without language, civilization, culture, scientific and technological development would not be possible.

Elders Provide a Spark for Maiyang Lor, an Aspiring English Teacher

October 27, 2021.Reading time 16 minutes.

Lor Maiyang is seen in an open area with trees behind her, inside a school

“When you have people who lift you up and push you to try new things, they are giving you the chance to grab onto what could give you success each and every time. You don’t always have to take it, but it also never hurts to try.”